1. Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to offshore containment systems. In particular, embodiments disclosed herein relate to an offshore atoll system that may be deployed to provide more manageable working conditions for subsea operations as well as spill containment and clean-up.
2. Background Art
Inclement weather may affect subsea recovery operations due to an inability to safely launch and recover a remotely operated vehicle (“ROV”) or to lift various subsea packages in and out of the water with cranes on a rig. For example, rough seas and high winds may cause loads to swing excessively, which may prevent personnel from safely working on deck. Further, a heliport on the rig may be affected by swells and make conditions unsafe to land a helicopter on the rig. As such, until the inclement weather passes, the oilfield must shut down, which may be very costly.
In addition, in the event of a spill, containment systems are typically stored and deployed from a beach, which can take a large amount of time before the containment system is able to effectively contain the spill. Further, containment efforts may often be frustrated further by inclement weather as the spilled oil may easily evade the containment system.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a system capable of fast deployment that provides the ability to work in rougher seas for various types of offshore operations, including subsea operations and spill containment.